Flamberge

This post is from the now defunct website “A GameDev Plays…”, copied here for posterity

More turn-based tactical goodness with a RPG twist in
Flamberge. Having just arrived in Steam’s
Early Access, the game already looks very promising, although it is a
little short and needs a touch more work. I look forward to it only
improving with time.

The player in Flamberge controls a small party of soldiers, archers and
other classes on various tactical maps against various enemies. Each
character can plan movement round the map and can then decide to use one
of a few available actions, usually attack, defend or use an item.
However, the characters can level up over time which allows new actions.
After clicking “Execute” everyone’s plans occur simultaneously. To get
around the problem with attacking an opponent who has moved out of the
way, each offensive action has 3 possible modes (with decreasing
damage): attack this position; attack in this approximate area; and,
attack anything nearby. Most of the scenarios require defeating the
enemy in battle, although there is also a stealth mechanic around
lines-of-sight so a few missions can be done in a clandestine manner.

That is most of the game. There is a meta game around the tactical
action. But it seems to mainly exist to progress the story and move the
player between battles. There is a vaguely fantasy feel to the game but,
nothing overtly unrealistic - so maybe it its just an alternate history.
The story is ok and sets the scene, but ends abruptly, or does it? The
game is quite short, it took me a little over 2 hours to complete,
finishing with a message that there is more to come.

This is an Early Access title. It is still a work in progress. The end
of the game said it was the end of Chapter 2, who knows how many more
chapters are planned. The main menu also gave an explicit single-player
option, so maybe multi-player is coming too later?

The current state of the game bodes well for the finished product,
assuming the devs have the time available to complete it. There are some
nice touches in the game, and there has clearly been some attention paid
to it with various animations and flying text. So playing is a pleasant
experience. The graphics are in a cute little 8-bit style and the music
is decent. When planning movement, the characters shift around smoothly
leaving an animated breadcrumb trail behind them. I particularly like
the way all the characters jump to attention at the start of each
scenario.

There are some problems in the game. I found it extremely easy once I
discovered a single simple trick. All the enemies will tell you (by
hovering over them) what they are intending to do the next turn! Where
they are looking, who they will attack, or whether they will move
instead. This makes it straightforward to create a near perfect plan of
action. Tricking enemies into running headfirst towards strong defences,
or just move out of the way of their attacks. There is not much
challenge when the correct course is largely given to you. There are
also a few little annoyances like mouse hitboxes being slightly askew
from their expected position, or events occurring too quickly. Still,
overall this is a good start to a game. I enjoyed my couple of hours
playing, but it is not yet finished.

Flamberge is available on the Steam
store on PC and Mac at
US$9.99. It has not yet been bundled.